Suspects charged with attempted murder in San Bernardino police ambush

SAN BERNARDINO - The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday filed six counts of attempted murder of a police officer against three men accused of shooting and injuring San Bernardino police officers Friday night.

Two of the men suspected in the ambush, Eric Van Newson, 22, of Los Angeles, Keijuan Tyrone Mayfield, 22, of Redlands, are in custody. The other man accused in the criminal complaint, James Love Jr., 29, of San Bernardino, is still at large.

"We will prosecute these criminals and any other criminal who thinks it's OK to attack an officer to the fullest extent of the law." said San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos.

Other charges include possession of a firearm by a felon and gang allegations stemming from the alleged ambush of patrol officers.

The crimes were willful, deliberate and premeditated, according to the allegations in criminal complaint filed Tuesday morning.

Newson, Mayfield and Love openedfire on the police during a traffic stop Friday night.

About 9:10 p.m., San Bernardino police officers attempted to stop a blue four-door sedan near Fame Liquor Store at Base Line and Sierra Way.

After the car pulled into the lot, four people stepped out of the car and started shooting at officers, police said. The officers exchanged multiple shots with them.

"The motive of the shooting is unclear at this time," said police Lt. Brian Tully. "We would like for Mr. Love to contact us and turn himself in so we can talk about what happened that night."

One officer, the passenger in the two-man patrol car, was struck in the leg and taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released.

"The officer is recovering," Tully said. "He's still off work but we look forward to an immediate and speedy recovery."

Mayfield and Newson were also injured during the gun fight. They were both taken into custody early Saturday morning.

Mayfield was booked at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. Newson has not yet been formally booked into the facility because he is still being treated for his wounds, officials said.

Police are also looking for an unidentified fourth suspect.

Officers are in a heightened state of readiness for any situation they may encounter during a shift, police officials said.

"Officers go out there prepared to deal with difficult situations on the streets everyday," Tully said. "They need to be aware of their surroundings at all times, on or off duty."

An arraignment is tentatively scheduled today for the two in custody.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Detective John Munoz at 909-384-5630 or Sgt. Gary Robertson at 909-841-5361.